Method for the manufacture of fabrics and device for carrying out said method



July 3, 1934. Q J T 1,965,474

METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FABRICS AND DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT SAID METHOD Filed March 23 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet l A Z'Z'or-ney July 3, 1934. Q J, SLOT 1,965,474 METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FABRICS AND DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT SAID METHOD Filed March 23, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Corfu 2 Z15 Jkarzrzs J20?! July 3, 1934. c J, SLOT 1,965,474

METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FABRICS AND DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT SAID METHOD Filed March 25, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 1771/6 772? C o/"we Z15 JEAN-77718 5 S202 July 3, 1934. c J. T 7 1,965,474

METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF'FABRICS AND DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT SAID METHOD Filed March 25, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 fi 3.? f 3:;

I17 ve 71 Z 0 r CorweZ/s JZaLafvwes JZ A z or we Patented July 3, 1934 PATENT OFFICE METHQD FOR- TH FABRICS AND E MANUFACTURE OF DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT SAID METHOD Cornelis Johannes Slot, Ensohede, Netherlands Application March 23,

1932, Serial No. 600,787

In the Netherlands March 28, 1931 6 Claims.

The invention relates to a method for the manufacturing of fabrics and to an apparatus for carrying out said method.

The invention has for its object to enable the manufacture, in a simple manner and by simple means, of fabrics Which are tubular and may be cut to strips either in the loon1e. g. directly after the weft concerned has been introducedor afterwards and to enable determination before 10- hand of the number of picks per inch,

According to the invention at least one weft thread is passed along a circular path successively through warp-sheds of a plurality of looms ar ranged in a circle, the weaving lines of which form sides of a triangle, rectangle or other polygon, whereafter the weft is beaten up, by means of a reed.

For carrying this method into effect according to the invention use is made of an apparatus comprising a plurality of looms arranged in a circle, the weaving lines of said looms forming sides of a polygon at the exterior of which a path or track for a bobbin-carrier is arranged, while a device is provided for passing said bobbin-carrier, together with at least one bobbin, in a closed circular path through the Warp sheds of successive looms, while further means are provided for beating up the weft by means of a reed.

Preferably according to the invention means are provided for moving the warp threads horizontally and means are also provided for beating up the reed almost up to a polygonal weaving line. The new apparatus may comprise e. g. six horizontal looms with reciprocating reed arranged in a circle; It is thus possible to Weave on one loom practically independently of the weaving on the other ones, that is to say, the looms may be successively adjusted for e. g. 32, 40, 48, 64, 80 and 100 picks per inch. In such a case the fabric is cut through directly upon the beating up of one or more wefts, so that fabrics With widely varying picks-numbers may be made simultaneously. It has even appeared to be possible to manufacture in this manner manchester fabrics, while further fur-weavingis also very well possible. Up to the present this has not been possible.

The abovementioned polygon may according to the invention be determined by a central polygo-. nal ledge or bar over which the fabric is passed in vertical direction. This fabric may first be pased downwardly over an auxiliary breast-beam or over a guide-roller, then be guided radially outwardlyand finally beamed on at a point at the outer or rear side of each of' the: looms.

When the members, serving as abreastbeam,

are arranged centrally, in the center ofthe circle of looms, each member co-operates with a countermember located radially inwardly for the purpose of keeping the fabric pressed against said member. 1

According to the invention the polygonal ledge or bar, over which the woven product is guided, may be resilient wholly orpartially. The width of the reed may in accordance with the circumstances be equal to or greater than the length of the correspondingside of the polygon.

In a circular loom according to the invention a jacquard-mechanism may be provided for controlling the Warp threads, as the number of picks may be accurately determined beforehand. The Weft bobbins or the yarn thereof may be adapted to be put out of, or into operation in a predetermined order by means of a jacquard or other mechanism.

According to the invention the bobbin carrier is preferably segment-shaped and adapted to support a plurality of bobbins, either crosswound bobbins, or cylindrical or bottle-shaped bobbins. The center lines thereof according to the invention are preferably directed radially towards the center of the loom, or mainly radially outwardly. It is further preferred to make the bobbins removable-from the bobbin carrier independently of each other.

According to the invention preferably use is made of a bobbin-carrier which is segmentshaped and adapted to support a plurality of bobbins. For the trailing bobbin a closed guidemember and for the other bobbins closed or open eyes or similar guide members are provided, all disposed along anarc of a circle, the inner end of the trailing bobbin passing through the eye of the adjacent bobbin and being connected to the free end thereof, etc., thefree end of the trailing bobbin being guided through the corresponding eye into the shed along the polygonal beating line. 'Ihe'- last eye may be closed, the following five ones open, the sixth one closed, etc. Thus e. g. up to sixty bobbinsper bobbing carrier may be used, while the guiding of the thread still remains simple. Instead of arranging the bobbins inone row they may be distributed over a plurality of rows. In the automatic formation of the shed this may be taken into account.

The bobbin carrier may accord-ingto the invention be driven by providing it with a toothed part which is always engaged with at least one driving gear'of a-series of driving gears arranged in a circle, for the purpose of advancing thebobbin always in the same direction, said driving gears being preferably located in the spaces or interstices between the warps of two adjacent looms. To the shafts of the driving gears auxiliary gears may be secured, engaging a closed angular toothed ring.

According to the invention the mechanism for advancing the bobbin carrier is prefarably coupled with the device or devices for controlling the looms.

The invention makes it possible to manufacture in one section or unit of the apparatus a flat fabric, in another unit twill, in a further unit satin, damask or fur, etc.

The segment-shaped bobbin carrier may contain a large quantity of yarn distributed e. g. over sixty cross-wound bobbins. In case the yarns or these bobbins are connected up in series the weaving may be continued for a considerable time without necessitating a stoppage of the loom for the introduction of new weft threads. It is quite possible to weave continuously from 4 to e. g. 10 hours. In this manner a very long tubular fabric may be woven or a plurality of very long sheets of fabric according to the number of sides of the polygon and dependent on the fact whether the woven product is cut through or not.

The invention will be more fully explained by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan View of a loom according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a portion of a fabric which may be made by means of such a loom.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a loom according to the invention in which three of the six units have been omitted and the other three are shown in section, the sections being taken at different points in order to make the illustration as clear as possible.

Fig. 4 is a radial section of the loom according to Fig. 3 on one of the units.

Fig. 5 is a radial section of the opposite unit.

Fig. 6 shows a diagram of the driving device.

In Fig. 1 according to the invention six horizontal looms are mounted in a circle, forming units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

'7 denotes a circle forming the path of one or more weaving bobbins 8, which are advanced in a circular path in the direction of the arrow 9. The Weft 10 is drawn sufficiently by the bobbin, along the hexagon, moreover each of the six units is provided with a reed 11.

The weaving line 12 is of angular formation in accordance with the profile of the polygon according to which the separate looms 1-6 are arranged in a circle. In accordance herewith the fabric has a configuration, somewhat as indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 2.

Instead of six, any other number of looms may also be placed in a circle, according to the length of the circumference or the number of sheets which it is desired to weave and to other circumstances.

By omitting one or more warp threads locally e. g. at the corners of the polygon it is possible to form warpless longitudinal strips e. g. for the purpose of severing the fabric alongsaid strips later on, or for other reasons. In the loom the fabric may be cut through shortly upon its formation. If desired, use may be made of so-called selvedge-seamers.

A practical embodiment of a loom according to the invention is more fully illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Each of the six sections consists of a horizontal loom and warps of these looms are together supplied with the weft. To this end a segment-shaped bobbin-carrier 13 is rotatably supported and guided in the direction of the arrow 9 (Fig. 3) by pairs of rollers 14, 15 (Fig. 4).

This bobbin-carrier is provided at its outer circumference with a toothed part 16 which is always engaged by at least two of six driving-gears 17, arranged in a circle between the looms so that the bobbin carrier may be revolved thereby continuously in the same direction. The gears 1'? are secured to the upper ends of vertical driving-shafts 18, which are rotatably mounted in a suitable manner in the machine-frame 19 and at their lower ends carry gears 20 which are all in permanent engagement with a toothing 21 secured to the frame. In this manner it is ensured that the toothed part 16 of the bobbincarrier 13 will always engage the corresponding driving-gears in the correct manner. At their lower ends the shafts 18 each carry a belt pulley 22 and these pulleys may be driven in the manner shown in Fig. 6. At a suitable point of the loom an electromotor is mounted having a vertical shaft 23 to which a driving pulley 24 is attached from which all the belt pulleys 22 are driven.

The bobbin-carrier is provided with one or morein this embodiment thirteen-rotatable pins 25 adapted to receive conical crosswound bobbins 26 or bottle-shaped bobbins. Each of these bobbins may contain a large quantity of yarn so that e. g. altogether '7 kg. of yarn, suffi cient for a continuous operation of 4 to 10 hours, may be carried.

The weft thread 10 is guided from the last bobbin 27 through a porcelain eye 28 of a holder 29 towards the polygonal shed and the beginning of the bobbin is connected to the end of the thread wound on the last but one bobbin and protruding from the eye 28 thereof, etc., so that if e. g. eight bobbins are entirely unwound the weft thread 10 passes from the ninth bobbin through the eye thereof and further to the eyes of the eight empty bobbins, consequently along an arc of a circle, towards the shed.

One or more of the intermediate guide members may be partially open or forked, so that the yarn, after some bobbins have already been used up, need not to be passed through a large number of eyes. For six bobbins one closed and five open eyes may be used. By providing open eyelets, certain of the eyelets may be skipped by the yarn thereby reducing the friction between the yarn and eyelets.

This device therefore permits very economical and rapid operation. It is, however, not restricted to the embodiment shown, as so-called circular cops might also be used and might be unwound in the direction of motion of the bobbin. The motion of the corresponding loom is also derived from each of the shafts 18. To this end each shaft 18 carries a Worm 30 (Figs. 4 and 5) cooperating with a wormwheel 31 upon a horizontal shaft 32. This shaft carries a cam 33 actuating a roller 34 of a lever 35 having its fulcrum at 36 and carrying at its upper end the reed 11. The reed is rapidly beaten up far forwardly, up to the weaving line 12, which is determined by a hexagonal ledge 37.

It is of course also possible to have the reed beaten up totally or as far as it is desired. This may be controlled by means of a crankshaft or an eccentric. The reed may be of equal width as the ledge or it may be of greater width according to the circumstances.

The shaft 32 further carries a gear 38 driving a gear 39 on a shaft 40 carrying also cams 41, 42 for controlling the treadles 43 and 44 respectively for the shaft-motion.

In this embodiment the warp-threads 44 are guided towards the weaving line from a beam 46, over a tensioning device 47, through the eyelets of the healds, through the reed 11 and further below or above the bobbin-path.

The finished fabric 48 is guided over breast beams 49 and a counter-piece 50. The drive of the breastbeams is derived from the shaft 36 (Fig. 4) by means of the illustrated gearing the operation of which needs no further explanation. It only needs be noted that ateaoh stroke of the lever 35 the corresponding ratchet wheel is advanced one tooth.

The woven fabric, after being cut to sheets (strips of large width), may however be moved downwardly or upwardly and then radially outwardly and may then be beamed on at the outer side or at the rear end of the corresponding loom.

The circular loom illustrated operates as follows:

The weft thread is brought by the revolving bobbin 26, 26 successively in the warp sheds of the successive looms 1-6, and tensioned along the polygon; at the desired moment, after the bobbin has passed, the weft thread is rapidly and powerfully beaten up by the reed 11. After the reed has been drawn back the shed-changing takes place by lifting and dropping the healds. Now, if the bobbin 26, 26 has made one revolution, the warp-threads occupy again the correct position and the next weft threadwhich is the continuation of the preceding oneis then introduced and so on in all the looms.

In this manner with a loom width of 49 cm a tubular fabric, having a circumference of 2.40 m, and a predetermined number of picks, may be made, and according to the width of the looms and their number a smaller or larger weaving circumference or a smaller or greater number of sheets may be obtained at will.

One is not bound to weave the same fabric on all looms of the novel device; fiat weaving may e. g. be carried out on one loom and tweeling at the same time on another one. Use may be made of a plurality of revolving, simultaneously or successively or alternately unwinding bobbins.

By changing the number of eccentrics, treadles and healds and if desired by using a jacquard mechanism in the new circular loom various com-- binations may be woven, e. g. flat, tweel, fur, satin, damask, etc., all with determination of the num ber of picks per inch. I

By arranging the bobbins to be put int-o and out of operation by means of a suitable jacquard or other device, or by severing the thread of one bobbin and bringing that of another one into the shed, various effects may be obtained according as the various revolving bobbins carry different kinds of yarns, or yarns having different colours are present. A much larger number of colours may thus be arrived at than is possible with the usual looms.

In particular when weaving in one colour the loom may be kept working continuously at the speed of a usual loom during many hours, even ten and more hours, without necessitating the introduction of fresh yarn.

Moreover the bobbin moves much easier and smoother than in usual looms, the noise being much reduced, less energy being required and shocks being avoided. Further the novel loom may be operated at a much higher speed than the existing looms with picker-motion. Loss of time for introducing fresh bobbins is reduced and occurs less frequently.

The product of the novel loom is tubular and may be severed while in the loom by a simple cutting device, or afterwards, either for the formation of a large band or for the formation of strips. The band may have any desired width.

Although the novel loom is intended mainly for white goods or fur, it is also very suitable for the easy manufacture of entirely seamless sacks and all other products coming into consideration, either with or without beating up the reed and with the introduction and tensioning of a single thread by the revolving bobbin.

The ledge 37, or its edges only, may be made more or less resilient. The reed may be adjusted at a somewhat larger width than that of the side of the hexagon whereupon the weaving line lies.

The exclusive rights are not restricted to, the embodiments described, but other constructions falling within the scope of the accompanying claims are deemed to form part of the invention.

I claim:

1. A circular loom comprising a plurality of horizontal sections, each section including a warp beam and a straight-line weaving edge, said horizontal loom sections being positioned so that the straight-line weaving edges thereof are arranged in the form of a closed polygon and so that the warp beams are arranged in the form of a polygon concentrically positioned about the closed straight-line weaving edge polygon, means for moving a weft thread carrier in a circular path about said closed polygon and within the polygon defined by the warp beams, and a single reed positioned between each warp beam and its associated straight-line weaving edge for beating up the weft thread.

2. A circular loom comprising a plurality of horizontal sections, each section including a warp beam and a straight-line weaving edge, said horizontal loom sections being positioned so that the straight-line weaving edges thereof are arranged in the form of a closed polygon and so that the warp beams are arranged in the form of a polygon concentrically positioned about the closed straight-line weaving edge polygon, means for moving a weft thread carrier in a circular path about said closed polygon and within the polygon defined by the warp beams, a single reed positioned between each warp beam and its associated straight-line weaving edge for beating up the weft thread, and breast beam means polygonally arranged and vertically spaced with respect to the polygonal weaving edges for taking up the fabric resulting from the operation of the loom in a direction at an angle of substantially with respect to the direction of movement of the heating up reeds.

3. A circular loom comprising a plurality of polygonally arranged warp beams, a plurality of straight-line Weaving edges corresponding in number to the warp beams, said straight-line weaving edges being arranged in the form of a closed polygon congruent with and concentrically positioned within the polygonal formation defined by the Warp beams, means for guiding warp threads from the Warp beams substantially horizontally to the corresponding weaving edges, means for forming a warp shed between each cooperating warp beam and weaving edge, and means for moving a weft thread carrier in a circular path about the polygon defined by the weaving edges and between the threads defining the warp shed.

4. A circular loom comprising a plurality of polygonally arranged warp beams, a plurality of straight-line weaving edges corresponding in number to the warp beams, said straight-line weaving edges being arranged in the form of a closed polygon congruent with and concentrically positioned within the polygonal formation defined by the warp beams, means for guiding warp threads from the warp beams substantially horizontally to the corresponding weaving edges, means for forming a warp shed between each cooperating warp beam and weaving edge, means for moving a weft thread carrier in a circular path about the polygon defined by the weaving edges and between the threads defining the warp shed, and a straight-line reed associated with each of the straight-line weaving edges, and means for beating up the weft thread in a horizontal direction toward the weaving edge.

5. A circular loom comprising a plurality of polygonally arranged warp beams, a plurality of straight-line weaving edges corresponding in number to the warp beams, said straight-line weaving edges being arranged in the form of a closed polygon congruent with and concentrically positionedwithin the polygonal formation defined by the warp beams, means for guiding warp threads from the warp beams substantially horizontally to the corresponding weaving edges, means for forming a warp shed between each cooperating warp beam and weaving edge, means for moving a weft thread carrier in a circular path about the polygon defined by the weaving edges and between the threads defining the warp shed, a straight-line reed associated with each of the straight-line weaving edges, means for beating up the weft thread in a horizontal direction toward the weaving edge, and a plurality of polygonally arranged breast beam means for moving the woven fabric in a direction substantially at a right angle with respect to the direction of beating up of the reeds.

6. A circular loom comprising a plurality of warp beams arranged in the form of a polygon, a weft thread carrier positioned on a circular track within said polygon, means for continuously moving the weft thread carrier in one direction entirely around said loom, said loom comprising a plurality of horizontal sections corresponding in number to the number of polygonally arranged warp beams, a horizontal straight line breast beam contained in each of said sections, said breast beams adjoining each other and forming parts of a closed polygonal weaving edge, and a single straight line beating-up reed for each of said sections for cooperating with one of the straight sides of the closed polygonal weaving edge.

CORNELIS JOI-IANNES SLOT. 

